Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy warned in a closed-door conversation about the damage caused by settler violence in the West Bank, saying the phenomenon was harming Israel’s standing abroad.
“The Americans are fed up. Around the world, we are already perceived as bullies,” Levy said.
Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy
(Photo: Israel Police)
He said a relatively small group was responsible for deliberately attacking Palestinians and that its actions were creating significant reputational damage for Israel.
“There is a small group whose entire purpose is to come and attack Palestinians,” Levy said. “It causes us reputational damage.”
He added that the violence was contributing to an international perception of Israel as a country of “bullies and criminals.”
Levy also addressed Defense Minister Israel Katz’s push to transfer responsibility for civilian law enforcement in the West Bank from the IDF to the police.
The commissioner made clear that, in his view, the IDF remains the sovereign authority in the territory and said he had instructed senior police officials for now not to hold meetings with the military over a transfer of responsibility.
The comments come amid growing scrutiny of settler violence in the West Bank. According to UN figures cited this week by The New York Times, settlers have carried out thousands of attacks since the October 7 massacre, leaving thousands of Palestinians injured.
Clashes between settlers and Palestinians in Qusra
More than 3,200 Palestinians have been displaced from their homes because of settler violence since the beginning of this year, according to the figures, twice the pace recorded last year.
The number of Palestinians injured in settler attacks has also risen sharply, from an average of one person every three days in 2020 to more than three people a day in 2026, the report said.
The newspaper also noted that more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7, including terrorists, with the vast majority killed by Israeli forces. According to the UN figures, that is roughly equal to the total number of Palestinians killed there between 2005 and 2022.
Since 2023, 67 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in the West Bank, The New York Times reported.